Periodically accounting data needs to be taken off a network device (e.g., switch, router, hybrid switch-router) and moved to, for example, a workstation for processing and billing integration. Post-processing of the data is necessary to convert it from binary to ASCII, AMA/BAF or other formats. Typically two distributed carefully synchronized processes are used to move the data from the network device to the workstation. If either process becomes out-of-sync with the other (due to a number of factors including power outage, network outage, disk full), data loss is likely to ensue. Data loss may lead to many problems including inaccurate billing—that is, a network provider may be unable to fully bill their customers due to a loss of data showing actual network usage. Data loss may also lead to inaccurate network device performance calculations, which may make it difficult to determine whether quality of service guarantees and service level agreements have been met.
In addition, keeping two or more distributed processes operating in a networked environment is difficult and typically requires one or both processes to maintain the state of the other process. This can add undue burden to the network device. Moreover, network devices have limited storage capacity, and synchronization constraints may cause a network device to exceed its storage capacity leading to data loss and/or a network device crash.
A release of new hardware supporting new file formats requires a new release of software that runs external to the network device and is used to convert the data in accordance with the new file format. In fact, the entire network management system (NMS) software may need to be upgraded and re-released. A new release of software that runs internal to the network device may also be necessary. In either case, the network device and/or network management system may need to be re-booted/re-started in order to begin using the new software.